Take Forever
by as you were
Summary: Season 3 fluff. One-shot. "This is not your wedding day. Cotillion only happens once!" Chuck Bass wasn't the marrying kind. So why did the thought of Blair and multiple weddings make him sick to his stomach?


**Take Forever**

**Warning:** Spoilers through 3X09

**Pairings: **Blair/Chuck

**Summary:** Season 3 fluff. One-shot. "This is not your wedding day. Cotillion only happens once!" Chuck Bass wasn't the marrying kind. So why did the thought of Blair and multiple weddings make him sick to his stomach?

**Author's Note:** I still owe you guys the latest chapter of "The Leaving Song," but after 3x09, this fic was begging to be written. Humor my newfound muse and leave a review, will you? :p

* * *

The plan was to sulk in his suite for the rest of the night, away from the curious eyes of people who he could care less about. He had been petulant since he bumped into Jenny after Cotillion, and was in no mood to extend the Lost Weekend, as _thoughtfully_ suggested by Nate.

"Come on, man. What's one more night? Blair's out with Serena anyway. It'll be awesome," Nate said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I told you, Nathaniel, I'm not in the mood," Chuck replied, trying his best to feign patience.

"What's with you? Thought you and Blair were good now," said Nate, put off by Chuck's sudden testiness.

Chuck opened his mouth to reply but paused, then squared his jaw and stared ahead. "I'm heading back to the suite. You can make your own plans for tonight," he said, willing his best friend to get a clue.

"Fine." Nate replied, trying to read into Chuck's mood further. "Can I use the Xbox?" he asked after a beat.

Chuck sighed at Nate's idea of 'his own plans for the night,' but nodded at his blonde companion curtly. "The limo will be here in a minute."

* * *

Two hours later, Chuck was nursing a scotch while sitting in a dark corner in his suite, droning out the sounds of Nate playing NBA Live. He had hoped that he would have time to himself tonight, but at least Nate wasn't making himself much of a nuisance. It was bad enough he had grown pissy over something supposedly trivial Jenny said in passing that night. He didn't want Blair to see him deal with what Nate referred to as 'Man PMS.'

Just then he heard the faint click of the suite's door lock and watched the door knob turn. There was only one person aside from Nate who had a key to the suite, and at that moment, that person was very, very much unwelcome.

"Hello?" Blair said, peeking through the door to check who was in her boyfriend's suite. "Oh, hey. Didn't expect you guys home tonight."

Holding her clutch close to her chest, she crossed the suite's threshold and closed the door behind her. She walked towards the television which Nate was seated in front of and playfully put her hands over Nate's eyes, taking him away from his video game momentarily.

"Aaaagh! You made me miss the shot, Blair!" Nate yelped, trying to dodge his former girlfriend. Blair giggled, shaking her head, then sauntered over to Chuck who was quietly watching their exchange from his chair.

"Hey you," Blair said sultrily, as she settled herself onto Chuck's lap. "My night seems to have freed up," she continued, circling her arms around Chuck and pulling him close. "How about we head to your room so I can finally serve you your punishment?"

"I don't think so," Chuck said, smiling tightly while trying to gently push Blair off his lap. "Not tonight."

At Chuck's refusal, Blair defiantly put both of her hands on her hips and pulled her lips down into a pout. She noticed Chuck trying to avert her eyes. "What's wrong with you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I'm--"

"He's not in the mood!" Nate called out from his corner of the suite, garnering identical glares from Blair and Chuck.

"Well it's true! You've been a downer since Cotillion, man," Nate continued. When Chuck and Blair stared back at him, unflinching, he sighed exasperatedly and paused his game. "I'm heading out for some fresh air," said, miming the action of smoking a joint. "I don't know what's up, but you guys should...talk," he added, rolling his eyes.

Chuck watched Nate leave the suite, then turned back at Blair who was looking at him expectantly. "What now?"

"Why are you all huffy and wound up?" Blair prodded.

"I am _not_ huffy and wound up!" Chuck replied defensively.

"What changed then? A few hours ago you were practically begging me to spend the night. Now you're acting like you want nothing to do with me. What are you mad at me for this time?"

"I'm not mad. _Per se_," Chuck said carefully. "And I don't like your insinuation that I get mad at you for every little thing."

"Then what's up your ass?" Blair spat back. She had had a long night, from losing in a Queen-off with Jenny, being stuck in an elevator, making up with Serena, and then getting ditched for a married congressman. She really didn't need any more drama tonight. "Spill it, or I'm heading back to my dorm."

Chuck sighed. He knew he was blowing this out of proportion. He was still '_huffy_,' as Blair put it, but he didn't want to fight with her over it.

"Nate and I bumped into Jenny after we left Cotillion," he started, finally acquiescing to Blair's insistence for an explanation. "She told me you guys had a tiff about you being her mentor."

"O-kay," Blair said confusedly. "And we've ironed that out. How is little Humphrey even relevant to this conversation?"

Chuck squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Here comes the embarrassing part_, he thought. _N__ow or never._ "She mentioned you said something to her about how Cotillion's important. How it only happens once. Unlike your wedding day."

"And...?" Blair raised her eyebrows.

"You don't find anything illogical or questionable about that statement?"

"You know me well enough to know I valued my cotillion," she replied flippantly. "I was just telling Jenny to be more discerning about her society debut. Again, how is this relevant to us?"

Chuck shook his head and smiled grimly. "You're basically saying that it's acceptable in your head to marry more than once. You're saying you _expect_ yourself to be married off to more than one person in the future."

Blair stared back at Chuck, dumbfounded. "We live in the Upper East Side, Chuck. That shouldn't be a surprise. Your stepmother herself is a poster girl for failed marriages."

"You still don't get it!" spat Chuck.

"No, I don't! And quite honestly, the entire premise of this argument is ridiculous!"

Chuck stiffened at Blair's words, seeing as she still couldn't understand why he was bothered by what she had said. He needed her to see he wasn't just being stupid.

"I know I shouldn't care because marriage isn't even in the cards for people like me," he began. "But we're together, Blair, and I'm with you for real. I'm in this for the long haul. If you're telling me that you very well see yourself with someone else ten, twenty years down the line, it's not entirely ridiculous for me to be fucking pissed about it!"

Blair just stared back at Chuck, her eyes going wide several times through Chuck's tirade. Finally she opened her mouth to speak. "What-- what are you talking about?"

Chuck looked down at his feet. "When I think of the future, I'm only certain about two things. My money, and you. Everything else is up in the air. I'm sorry I'm being such a pussy about this, but I'm offended that you don't seem to regard me in the same way."

Blair remained speechless, her mind suddenly incapable of forming complete sentences. "Y-you lost me at 'future'," she stammered.

Chuck moved closer to Blair and took her hands in his. "I'm fucking in love with you, Blair," he said softly. "Marriage scares the shit out of me, but I'm more scared of a future that doesn't involve you."

"When I get my act together a few years from now, I'm going to marry you," he continued. He met her eyes, finally, and Blair saw that he looked as vulnerable as he did the night of her mother's wedding. "And when I marry you, I want us to last."

"Chuck..." Blair began, her cheeks flushing pink and tears forming at the corner of her eyes. This was the first time she heard him talk about the future and while the topic was unexpected, it wasn't entirely unwelcome.

"No pre-nups," Chuck interrupted. "No affairs. No divorces. No second, third or fourth marriages. I want us to make it, and I don't think I can accept you thinking otherwise."

"I can't believe you were actually mad at me over this," Blair said bemusedly. Chuck moved to drop her hand, thinking that he had still been unable to get his point across, but Blair recovered quickly. "You're being ridiculous, Chuck. Of course I want us to make it too."

Chuck stayed silent, but prodded her to go on.

"It's just...harder in the UES, that's all," she finished.

Chuck squared his jaw and drew Blair in to kiss her forehead. "I'm not going to lose you," he said firmly, issuing a silent challenge to the world should it try to wedge him from her in present or future time.

"You won't," Blair said soothingly, allowing Chuck to bury his head in the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry what I said to Jenny upset you. I wasn't thinking when I said that."

"Okay," he said, finally giving in.

...

They had been quiet for several minutes, both of them revelling in holding each other close. By then Chuck had sprawled back onto his chair, with Blair draped over his chest. He was absently threading his fingers with hers when Blair, being typical Blair, chose to break the comfortable silence. "I can't believe you've actually thought of marrying me," she said. "Let the records show it was Chuck Bass who first brought up marriage in this relationship, and not me."

"Well I am with you, after all," Chuck replied. He looked down at his girlfriend and smirked. "After years of watching you practically force Nathaniel down the aisle, I'm a little bit hurt you haven't shown any effort to manipulate me into a shotgun marriage," he said playfully. Blair threw her head back and laughed, swatting Chuck at his chest.

After a beat, however, Chuck turned serious, and looked Blair in the eyes. "In a few years then?" he asked, his voice thick with earnest hope.

Blair's eyes shined, but she averted Chuck's gaze quickly and looked down at her bare ring finger. _Yes. A hundred times yes. _"If this is your attempt at a proposal, you're seriously not doing it right," she replied coyly.

Chuck laughed. And finally Blair felt that all was right with them again. "I love you, Waldorf," he breathed out as Blair ran her fingers down Chuck's chest.

"I love you too, Bass," she whispered, as she pulled him down for a kiss.

...

Nate knew Chuck and Blair well enough not to go back to the suite that night, NBA Live be damned.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Loved it? Hated it? Let me know!


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